Thursday, September 22, 2016

Fanfare Strongly Recommends Wuthering Heights

Fanfare Magazine's James Altena sees Carlisle Floyd as a leading voice of American Opera and welcomes Wuthering Heights into his collection:

“Here is a composer who writes in an accessible but never simplistic or retrograde tonal vocabulary; has a sound grasp of what makes operas work dramatically in terms of subject matter, plotting, and pacing; and crafts compelling music that vividly illustrates his texts (Floyd writes his own librettos) while yet placing them in expressive, arcing melodic lines. In particular, to anyone who has encountered it, his early opera Susannah is a stunning work of genius;…and now [I] am most pleased to welcome into my home the premiere recording of his next opera in order of composition, Wuthering Heights. … It is uncommon enough nowadays for recordings of major standard repertoire works to receive consistently well-cast performances; all the more credit to the Florentine Opera Company of Milwaukee and Reference Recordings, then, for assembling such a uniformly strong vocal cast here. There is simply not a single weak link in the chain, even in the comprimario roles of Lockwood (tenor Aaron Short), Joseph (tenor Frank Kelly), or Mr. Earnshaw (bass Matthew Burns). … The Milwaukee Symphony under Joseph Mechavich plays with conviction and polish…I am overjoyed to have this set. Those who think great opera died with Puccini’s Turandot, or perhaps with Britten’s Peter Grimes, should acquire this opera…Very strongly recommended.” —James A. Altena, Fanfare